Death's Compromise
by lazyvirgo
Summary: Prue faces death earlier then anyone thought. She can’t tell anyone, but she won’t ruin her relationship with young Phoebe. When she tells her, Phoebe will do anything to keep her sister, and must do it without Piper and Prue is hiding. Death/Phoebe!


Charmed Fanfic

Takes Place After "Death Takes a Halliwell"

Note:Younger ages.

Prue-27 Piper-24 Phoebe-17

Pairing-Phoebe H. & Angel of Death

Prompt- Prue faces death earlier then anyone thought. She can't tell anyone, but she won't ruin her sensitive relationship with young Phoebe. When she tells her, Phoebe will do anything to keep her sister, and must do it without Piper and Prue is hiding in her room. When she can't find anything in the Book of Shadows, she has to go straight the the source. The Angel of Death. What happens when the neutral angel falls for a certain witch who may become the most powerful one of her kind?

After Death had faded out, Prue thought about what he had said and showed her, and knew that he wasn't lying and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew as a Charmed One, that this was the end. The Charmed Ones power would be lost, though Phoebe and Piper would still be powerful witches. She sat on the rocks for an hour, crying and trying to reason through everything. After a while, her eyes had stopped burning and the tide settled, she stood and walked slowly to her BMW and drove home in a trance like state.

When she got home, she had no intention of telling Pheebs or Piper anything. But, when Phoebe noticed her walking through the door, looking as if she had just seen a ghost, her face morphed into innocent concern and Prue's mind switched, she couldn't lie to her baby sister, after just starting to mend their sensitive relationship. The truth bubbled to Prue's lips and fell from her mouth like foul food, "I saw Death again."

Phoebe's eyes widened, her mouth forming a perfect "O." She understood what this Angel of Death was doing to her sister, and she was starting to get pissed off at this "neutral" angel. Neutral her ass. If he was going to try and hurt her big sister from her then he was going to have to go through her first.

But, she also had to talk to Prue and help her get through her first. "Why?" She questioned softly. She had to know what was going on and then she was going to find this "angel" and kick the shit out of him.

Prue's reasonable side told her that, telling Phoebe would cause her little beeboppin' sister to go on a determination streak to find a way around, Prue now knew, the inevitable. But, Piper, oh boy, Piper. She would become seemingly emotionless, but would be a wreck underneath. Phoebe wouldn't be able to help her and Leo would just make it mushy and poetic, not that she didn't love Leo and think that Piper and his love was epic, but sometimes he just got too into it and made it seem as if the situation they were in was some kind of Nicholas Sparks story. Blech. But, Prue also knew that Phoebe was on a mission to preserve the Power of Three, and that what was destined to happen would make it the Power of Two and virtually useless. Then, she made a choice, she won't tell Piper, but she had to tell Phoebe. She had no reasonable reason, but she had to.

"He told me that I'm next on his list." She had made her choice and she couldn't take it back.

Phoebe's breath caught and her eyes widened. "His–,"

"Yes, his Death List." Prue answered flatly, staring straight ahead.

Phoebe couldn't take losing her sister, she knew immediately that she needed to help her get through the impact of finding out that she was going to die soon, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that she couldn't beat death. But, that didn't mean that she wasn't going to try.

"What about Piper?" Phoebe asked quietly.

Prue thought for a moment, but decided that it would only make Piper more determined that the Charmed Ones could beat anything, and be able to live their lives as women and witches, or some crap like that. Prue knew the extent of that wish.

"We won't tell her, can you handle that?" Prue answered and questioned, knowing how her sister's mouth tended to start and not stop.

Phoebe thought for a moment, and hesitated when she answered, "Yes, I can, but what are we going to do?"

Prue looked down, then when she looked up, her eyes were glassy. "I don't know." It wasn't hard to recall the events of the day, it had been one of the most intense and difficult days of her twenty-seven years of life. Death is unavoidable, but she wasn't going to tell Pheebs that. Little did she know that Phoebe already knew.

"Prue?" Came a voice.

Prue hurried the end of their conversation quickly. "Okay, Pheebs, remember, Piper can't know." Prue cautioned her baby sister.

Phoebe nodded, but her heart was heavy with the information her big sister had trusted her with.

Piper walked down the stairs and glanced at Prue and let her gaze settle on the guiltier looking Phoebe. She also didn't fail to notice the looks of both her sisters' faces. Carefully concealed guilt and secrets. "What did I miss," Piper paused and checked both her sisters' reactions and looked back at Phoebe. "Phoebe?" Piper's eyes bored into her little, and slightly weaker back-boned, sister, making sure Prue knew that the question was directed at Phoebe.

Phoebe's eyes widened innocently. "What? Oh, nothing, just talking about, you know, stuff."

Piper's eyebrows raised, and her eyes spoke volumes. _You are such a fucking liar, Phoebe._

Prue jumped in, watching as her whole plan start a slow burn, and if Phoebe kept talking it would become a full blown wildfire. "Yes, we were just talking abourt, um, clocks!" _Fuck, 'cause that was so much better._

"Clocks?" Piper repeated, sounding slightly confused and very suspicious.

Phoebe caught on, getting one of those rare moments of kindred moments with Prue, "Yes! Clocks, you know, because we keep breaking the one in the foyer, with the demons, and attacks and stuff, and we were just thinking of possible solutions." Phoebe gave Piper her famous grin and said, "You know, I think I'm just going to go and take a drive, Prue can I use your car? Thanks." Pheobe brushed past Piper, snagged Prue's keys, not waiting for an answer, and walked out the door, without even grabbing her coat.

Piper watched her leave, then turned her head to her older sister, and raised her eyebrows again and tilted her head. "What was that all about?" She asked, her body language daring Prue to lie.

Prue mentally winced, scrambling for a cover-up, but hating the fact that she had to lie about such a major thing. "She's just having a little trouble with high school." Prue answered quietly. "Hey, I'm tired, I'm going to take a nap."

For the second time in less then five minutes, Piper watched her sister lie to her and give an excuse to avoid her. She turned and watched Prue walk slowly up the stairs with her eyes glassy and downcast.

As soon as she heard Prue's door close, she put her hands on her hips, looked up and called, "Leo!"


End file.
